PM and LG on free seats

PM appreciates Delhi Govt's move on poor students

Rajesh Kumar / New Delhi

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has appreciated the Delhi Government's move to implement Delhi High Court's order to admit 25 per cent poor students in their respective school. The Prime Minister has asked Lieutenant Governor BL Joshi to furnish details about the reservation of seats for under privileged children and action plan of the State Government.

Mr Joshi on Thursday called Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, City Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely and sought details on the reservation of seats for under privileged children in unaided public schools and how the Government will implement it. Speaking to The Pioneer, Mr Lovely said that Prime Minister was keen to know about how the Government plans to implement it and the response of the schools. Mr Lovely said that the Prime Minister has appreciated the Delhi Government's move to implement the court orders to admit 25 per cent poor students in unaided public schools across the Capital.

Mr Lovely said that the department has informed that action would be taken against those who defy the court order. "All the public schools will have to admit 25 per cent poor students in their respective schools as per the undertaking given by them to the Government at the time of allotment of land for school buildings," said Mr Lovely. He said that the Government will also provide monetary help to these under-privileged children.

A division bench comprising Justice BC Patel and Justice BD Ahmed had given four months time to the Delhi Government and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to see that 25 per cent students from weaker sections of the society are admitted to recognised private unaided schools which were granted land at concessional rates. The High Court's directions came on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) Social Jurist.

The petitioner counsel Ashok Aggarwal had brought to the notice of the High Court that out of the 1,500 unaided recognised private schools in Delhi and over 1200 schools were allotted public land at throwaway prices. The petitioner also submitted that while land was granted to the schools at concessional rates by the DDA, it was binding upon the schools to fill up 25 per cent of the seats with children from the underprivileged section of the society. The petitioner alleged that none of the schools compiled with this condition. More than 1200 private unaided schools have been given land at concessional rates by the Delhi Development Authority

Joshi reviews poor students’ quota in schools

By Our Correspondent

New Delhi, June 24: Delhi lieutenant-governor B.L. Joshi held a review meeting on Thursday to ensure that children of the economically weaker section were granted admissions in the various schools which had been allotted land at concessional rates.

The meeting was attended by chief minister Sheila Dikshit, education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely and top education department officials. Mr Joshi is learnt to have asked the government about the ways and means to ascertain the implementation of this norm.

Mr Lovely told the L-G that instructions have been issued to all the schools which have been granted land at throwaway prices to stick to the court orders of providing admissions to students from the economically weaker section. "In a recent meeting with the Public Schools Federation, it was made clear that no violation would be tolerated," he said. Besides, education officers would be assigned the task of ensuring that the quota was confirmed and in case of any default, they too would be made accountable along with the erring schools, he added.

The Delhi high court had on April 21 given strong directions to the Delhi government to publish in newspapers the list of un-aided private schools, which have failed to discharge the obligation of admitting a fixed percentage of children from weaker sections. As per an high court order, schools allotted land at a throwaway price were obliged to give admission to children of poor families.

In its order, the court had even told the directorate to frame rules for those schools where the fixed percentage of freeship and admission was not specified in their allotment letters .